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Hydroelectric power generation

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  • A large dam is one with a height of 15 metres or more from the foundation. If dams are between 5 and 15 metres high and have a reservoir volume of more than 3 million m3, they are also classified as large dams by the International Commission on Large Dams. In 2000, there were over 45 000 large dams around the world.Source: World Commission on Dams. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-Making. London, UK: Earthscan Publications, 2000, p.4-6.

Graphic - Dam builders have been busy beavers (283 Kb)
Dam builders have been busy beavers [283 Kb]

  • In the mid-1990s, there were 2 836 reservoirs with a storage capacity greater than 0.1 km3 and a combined total volume of 6 384.5 km3.Source: Gleick, Peter H. The World's Water 2000-2001. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2000, p. 270.

  • In the developed world, roughly 70% of hydroelectric power generation potential has already been developed; in the developing world, only about 10%.Source: World Water Council. World Water Vision: Making Water Everybody's Business. Chapter 2: The Use of Water Today.

Graphic - Powering the world with water (206 Kb)
Powering the world with water [206 Kb]

  • In 2000, one-third of the countries in the world relied on hydropower for more than half their electricity supply, and large dams generated 19% of electricity overall.Source: World Commission on Dams. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-Making. London, UK: Earthscan Publications, 2000.

Canada symbolCanada

  • In 1999, the total electric power generated from hydro sources was 340 464 GWh, representing 60.4% of the total generated electricity in Canada. Over 45% of that electricity was produced in Quebec.Source: Natural Resources Canada, 2001.

  • The largest hydroelectric power development in Canada is the James Bay project in Quebec, which started producing electricity in 1982; its eight dams and 198 dikes contain five reservoirs covering 11 900 square kilometres, half the size of Lake Ontario. The combined output of its generating stations is 15 237 megawatts.Source: Natural Resources Canada. The Atlas of Canada - Facts About Canada.

  • Canada ranks as one of the world's top 10 dam builders. Although the Canadian Dam Association register of dams (2003) reports 933 large dams in the country, there are many thousands of smaller dams. Of these large dams, 596 are used primarily for hydroelectric power generation. Quebec has 333 large dams, more than any other province. Ontario and British Columbia are next with 149 and 131 dams respectively.Source: Environment Canada. Freshwater Website - A Primer on Fresh Water.

  • The Daniel Johnson Dam on Quebec's Manicouagan River is the largest hollow-body multiple-arch-and-buttress dam in the world. It has a total of 12 generating units capable of producing 2592 MW of hydroelectric power.Source: A Scoff an' Scuff. Hydro Quebec - Manicouagan 5

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